The Board of Trustees of the Sharjah Excellence Award, one of the initiatives of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), has recently held a meeting to discuss ongoing preparations for the award’s fourth edition 2019 as well as the action plan of activities done during the second and third quarters of this year.

During the meeting, the board reviewed the promotional stages of the award, which included holding seminars, workshops, and participating in conferences and exhibitions inside and outside the country, in addition to making tours and field visits to promote the award’s categories.

The meeting, which was chaired by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Award, also discussed the setting of a schedule for the award, along with the training courses, approved by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), and to be given this year.

Present at the meeting were Sultan Abdullah Bin Hadda Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Sharjah Economic Development Department, Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al Awadi, SCCI’s Director-General, and Nada Al Hajri, General Coordinator of the Award, as well as members of the board of trustees

Intensifying efforts

Al Owais urged the award’s team to intensify their efforts and promote the award’s various categories, so as to help achieve its mission and contribute to implementing the wise vision of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

He stressed the importance of enhancing the award’s position and reputation as one of the most prominent economic initiatives aimed at developing competitiveness and creating a conducive investment atmosphere for the UAE and Gulf business community.

Constant development

For his part, Al Awadi said that the accolade is in a constant development, thanks to the SCCI’s keenness to promote the culture of excellence and quality in the Emirate and the UAE, in line with its mission to be a driving force for the economic development in the Emirate and the UAE, and to become a regional hub for providing the best scientific and applicable practices.

He added: “We have done some changes to the fourth edition so as to keep abreast of the best international practices in the field of business excellence and to add many competitive advantages to enterprises participating in the seven-category award”.

The changes included renaming the award from Sharjah Economic Excellence Award to Sharjah Excellence Award, in addition renaming the “Sharjah UAE Startups Award” category to Sharjah Small and Medium Enterprises Award, which is divided into two sub-categories.  Each sub-category will have two winners each of whom will receive AED25,000.

These two sub-categories will include micro-enterprise category with 5 employees or less, as well as small and medium enterprises category with more than 5 employees.

The amendments also involved making the participation in the Sharjah Entrepreneurs Award category, open for all emirates. This category is dedicated to rewarding the most successful businessmen in the UAE who have left a distinctive imprint in the business world and will have two winners each of whom will receive AED 50,000.

The Sharjah Excellence Award program consists of 7 awards including Sharjah Gulf Excellence Award, Sharjah Gulf Localization Award, Sharjah Excellence Award, Sharjah Small & Medium Enterprises Award, Sharjah Entrepreneurs Award, Sharjah Green Award, and Sharjah Social Responsibility Award.